Friday, March 16, 2012
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
The Youngstown Y-Neptune swim team will send 42 athletes to this weekend’s Great Lakes Zones championship meet at C.T. Branin Natatorium in Canton.
“This is the largest team the Neptunes has sent to Zones,” said head coach Susan Nutter of Lisbon, “and the kids are very excited about competing.
YMCAs from the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and West Virginia compete at the meet. Swimmers must qualify by achieving the highly competitive cut-off times established each year in May.
“The times just seem to get faster and faster each year, and each year we have kids rise to the challenge and make the cuts,” Nutter said. “This year we have a relay in every relay event at Zones, which has never happened before and which speaks highly of the caliber of swimmers making up this year’s Neptunes Zone team.”
Swimmers competing this year at Zones include five 9- and 10-year-old girls: Gina Landers (Canfield), Carly Ungaro (Poland), Gia DiRenzo (Austintown), Kamryn Pechatsko (Canfield), Lucy Graziano (Poland); and five 9-10 boys: Matthew DunLany (Boardman), Noah Basista (Boardman), Jordan Stackpole (Columbiana), Jacob Kountz (Poland) and Nicholas Lattanzion (Poland).
Nine 11-12 swimmers will compete: Jennifer Eich (Poland), Tess Emerson (Leetonia), Gina Ungaro (Poland), Logan Kountz (Poland), Tim Kubacki (Austintown), Jay Raymer (Poland), Paul Graziano (Poland), Dominic Lattanzio (Poland) and Kamran Sarac (Canfield).
In the 13-14 age group, qualifiers include Maggie Beistel (Canfield), Theresa Mikolay (Canfield), Taylor Tofil (Struthers), Jessie Morrow (Columbiana), Brianna Alicea (Canfield), Kayla Fisher (Austintown), Maddie Leek (Poland), Morgan Weiss (Canfield), Seth Morrow (Columbiana), Marco DiVincenzo (Boardman), Thomas Frederick (Austintown), Drew Rogers (Canfield) and Fredric Faucette (Boarddman).
The 15-over swimmers are Jessica Hilk (Boardman), Mikayla Morrow (Columbiana), Zoe Sommers (Poland), Colleen Manning (Boardman), Annie Boniface (Poland), Alex Downie (Boardman), Michael Bleggi (Canfield), Alec Santamas (Boardman), Nick Barone (Boardman) and Joe Boniface (Poland).